Apr 27, 2014 at 02:43 PM
John M will take care of it for free with a sturdy combination of duct tape and packing tape.
NYC Spring Series
Apr 27, 2014 at 04:09 PM
@Tim: This does suck. I broke my seat stay in a similarly stupid incident a few years ago. I sent a picture to Calfee who confirmed (tentatively) that they would be able to fix it and gave me an approximate cost ($300-350 I think). I shipped it to them and got pretty good turnaround (couple of weeks I think). You couldn't even tell it had been broken. Rode the bike for several years without any further problems and recently sold the frame. From my understanding, seat stays are about the least essential component of your bike anyway.
Apr 27, 2014 at 04:20 PM
Judging by how sinew the seat stays are on some Cervelo's I would agree
Apr 27, 2014 at 04:54 PM
Actually Tim if you just give John the bike and let him ride it for for a couple of months the dirt alone should fill in the crack and bond that bad boy back to full strength.mperlberg said:John M will take care of it for free with a sturdy combination of duct tape and packing tape.
Apr 27, 2014 at 05:31 PM
Garrigan claims to have video of some guy riding around on a Cervelo with the seat stays sawed off.
Apr 27, 2014 at 07:11 PM
Glad to hear that no bodies were damaged today in the finale of the 2014 Spring Series. I'm hoping I have on-bike video of the race (although not optimistic), so I won't write a novel here. Briefly though the 1/2/3s started with Eric Robertson, Vlad, Ragot, Jules (in his first 1/2/3 race, still with thumb brace in place), Andy, Marc, JP, Perlberg, Ryan and Dan Strika.
KCC rode another strong race overall with guys either in moves, covering or doing their best to bring things back. About 8 laps into the 15-lap race, Weather Channel's Michael Margarite (https://www.usacycling.org/results/?compid=211807) slips away and rides and builds a 1+ minute gap by the end of the race to easily take the win.
Leading up to two laps to go, the last of KCC worker bees stung for the last time, falling off during a brutal left cross-headwind section where the field was gutterball on the right side of the road. That left JP, Mike, Ryan and Ragot to fight it out for finishing money. By my rough count, Perlberg came in 15th-ish and JP 25th-ish. Scott Savory wins the field sprint.
In the Master's race, Malcolmson gets away in a 12-rider breakaway and sprints for a rock solid 3rd place.
I was/am still a little spacey/cross-eyed from the race, so I didn't really properly absorb how the 4s and 5s did today. Sorry guys. I'm looking forward to reading all the race reports later today.
Apr 27, 2014 at 08:33 PM
John,
Looks like some hard racing. Right now temps in mid to late 40's and 11mph winds (headwind
sprint).
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=11205
Stokes, Condon, Sonies and I in the masters race.
Where are these results coming from. I didn't race today.
Apr 27, 2014 at 08:45 PM
This is race prediction on road-results.com Mark, not results.
Apr 27, 2014 at 08:46 PM
@Mark, it's not results, it's predicted results from the race predictor app found here:
http://www.road-results.com/?n=racers&sn=predYou simply plug in the "who's registered" URL from bikereg.
Apr 27, 2014 at 09:39 PM
Race report forthcoming; still pretty shelled.
Apr 27, 2014 at 09:42 PM
Wait...Jules raced his bicycle ?
Apr 27, 2014 at 10:01 PM
There aren't many races where I can say I got dropped and had a fantastic time. This is one of them.
New baby at home, broken thumb, a wicked flu (two actually) that tore holy hell through our family - I've got a thousand excuses for not racing, but not today.
I'd been planning on doing a long "Family Man's" ride ~ 4 hours and home by 11am, but the more I thought about it, the dumber it seemed. I'm not doing any long road races his year, and I could just as well go to the park and hammer for a couple of hours... a quick check of the forum and the harsh truth came crashing down; an AVD Park race where I was aged out of the 45+ Master's field.
I started doing some mental arithmetic and after a quick check with the Mrs (the real Directeur Sportif of the family) I decided at about 11pm to race the P123 field; my first ever.
After changing wheels, brake pads, and laying out my stuff I lay down and stared at the ceiling; as nervous as I've ever been. Luckily, thanks to #babylife that didn't last long and I was fast asleep pretty quickly.
Johnny Wrongway was kind enough to pin me up, taking advantage of my ample spine fat.
After a chilly and social warmup lap with Jeff Condon I managed to misplace my "good hand" glove and we were off - with one glove covering #jankeythumb and a bare right hand.
I'll be honest here, I haven't been that confused about what was happening in a race in a race in a long time; my goals were very simple
1) get a hard ass ride in to start the road back to fitness
2) Ride a circuit between the KCC veterans (there were plenty in this race) asking each in turn "what now?"
3) help out, if at all possible
I figured the race would take care of #1, and my positioning rule "be where the good guys are" would take care of #2, and that in turn would take care of #3.
I think Perlberg had the first request, "go back, get Eric and bring him up here." Ok, no problem... I confirmed which Eric (there were two) and went back. Just as I got next to him with the instruction he took about three pedal strokes and was rocketing up the lefthand side to confer with Mike. Glad I could help... :P
A bit later Marc told me to go to the front and 'ride some tempo' to bring something back - did he say we had two men in a twelve man break? I can't remember, but after that effort I started moving backwards through the pack at an alarming rate.
"Get that wheel! Get that wheel! Get that wheel!" my brain screamed, but I.just.couldn't. Finally, I'm not sure how I recovered enough to hang on, lamprey like and hid in the pack like a scared (and tired) kittten.
And so it went. I chased, I hung out near teammates, followed moves (one stayed away for the better part of a lap) or the best riders I could find near the front.
I managed to keep pretty good position, drink both my bottles and eat most of my cliff bar.
With maybe six to go I found JP and basically told him that my engine was pretty blown; at this rate I could hang on for a meaningless pack finish or "do something" to blow myself up if it would help him. He didn't have much instruction on that front, but Mike found me with about five to go and (it gets hazy here) basically told me to go with a group, then hang on his wheel... just as I thought I would let a strategic gap open behind him (in front of me) he looked back and said, "Stay on my wheel!"
Well Mike, all I have to say is that you are a bad, bad man. But I tried. And then all the lights on the dashboard went dim, the engine spun down and out the back I went. My last memory is of Vlad dashing up ahead trying to catch the group I just couldn't bridge back to.
Dropped with four to go, but happy as a clam to have been able to help, and accomplished all three of my goals.
So: I'm putting out an APB for all the enzymatic pathways that I used to know so well - GET YOUR ASSES BACK IN YOUR CHAIRS, I AIN'T FINISHED WITH YOU!
I'm super stoked to be back in the game, and it was just swell seeing everyone at a race again.
Oh, one last thing, before I forget - I didn't tell my coach I was racing, so I'm just going to send him the power file and wait for the phone to ring :P
A few random observations:
1) we need to start a petition or something to get @Marc to race his new bike already
2) there was a random slow motion leaning crash on the uphill
3) I got quite a few "hi Jules, good to see you here" welcomes from competitiors
4) these races are fast. I think we did close to a 7 minute lap at one point, and with the big headwind we were genuinely single & double file down the whole finishing straight.
5) that hill is no joke at P123 speeds
6) those guys really are better bike drivers than the 4's. Not to say there weren't shenanigans, but in close to two hours I never heard a single "hold your line!"
7) at one point when I was truly groveling going up the hill, I suddenly saw Ragot coming back toward me. A bit of vindication that yes, this race was hard.
8) there are new, secret places where shit happens - like the false flat just before the descent - people just smash that section - which probably explains the blazing downhill speeds - that and there really wasn't *any* braking on the descent.
Lastly, for those who don't know it, @Marc is a Wizard - that ponytail is NOT just for show. More than once he gapped me off his wheel on a section of road that I didn't even know was a "place" where that could be done. Randomly (or so it seemed) he'd put in a flurry of leg speed on some random-seeming roller and I'd be a bike length off his wheel. To which I have to say,
Apr 27, 2014 at 10:19 PM
Wait....Marc has a new bike? I'm missing everything...
Apr 28, 2014 at 12:09 AM
"F" those predictions. I know I can do better than that : )
Apr 28, 2014 at 02:26 AM
One more thing about the AVD races that I wanted to share. AVD gets a ton of shit for running disorganized, unsafe races.
At the beginning of the season when Charlie, AVD & Greg Avon (but really Charlie, because he runs Greg's races) all have to meet with the park and review their permits one of the negotiations that happens is "how many and where are the marshals?"
This year AVD insisted on one more than the Park had demanded. "Nope," he said, "you gotta have one more right here. Sorry guys, I know it probably sounds weird, but we need 26."
This year AVD insisted on one more than the Park had demanded. "Nope," he said, "you gotta have one more right here. Sorry guys, I know it probably sounds weird, but we need 26."
Today's race was safe, well run and reasonably well organized.
I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of negative things he's done, but fair is fair - and he insisted the park make bike races safer at his own (and Charlie's) expense - he deserves some credit for that.
Apr 28, 2014 at 02:34 AM
@ Jules - good work. Today was a tough introduction. I bet you don't get dropped in Prospect 123 races for the next 10 years. My xPower was 278 watts for 2 hours of racing. That's perty hard.
For clarity, I was hoping to form a small group off the front when I encouraged you to stay with me. You'll get the feel for the ebb and flow of the pack, but at that instant we started to bunch towards the front because folks were totally gassed. I wanted to roll right through, start working together, and hope for a bridging group of riders to join us once we were up the road. It works well sometimes, especially when the race is hard.
JP and I did this exact thing with 2 to go. It should have been a good move to fight out the top 10 but too many guys joined that could not or would not contribute.
We were caught with 1/2 a lap to go. I figured I would drift back and drag anyone up who could contribute to the lead out, but it turned out nobody was left. I worked my way back to the group and saw Eric, Ryan, and JP forming a little train. I got on a wheel too far back, with Dan Chabanov on the back. I thought this was good, because we looked to be a little early, but Dan sat up.
That said, it was our best looking lead out of the year, except it was a little early and we didn't have someone to actually sprint. Oooops. I got to watch it from behind. I kinda motored around and found some gaps and avoided some argy-bargy to finish around 15th.
Fun times.
Apr 28, 2014 at 02:47 AM
Thanks @Mike. 275 normalized for me for 1:40 (1:45?) until I blew. I'm super excited to be able to attend these now.
Countdown to cast removal and the #jankeythumbfreedom tour is now under 48 hours.
You do now wanna KNOW how long my thumbnail is right now. I'm thinking of having it bronzed and putting it on a chain around my neck.
Apr 28, 2014 at 02:51 AM
I wish I still had admin access so I could censor this post. That is so gross.
Jules said:Thanks @Mike. 275 normalized for me for 1:40 (1:45?) until I blew. I'm super excited to be able to attend these now.Countdown to cast removal and the #jankeythumbfreedom tour is now under 48 hours.You do now wanna KNOW how long my thumbnail is right now. I'm thinking of having it bronzed and putting it on a chain around my neck.
Apr 28, 2014 at 03:04 AM
Don't get me started on the smell, which I cannot help from sampling every five minutes or so. Dreadful? Certainly. Delicious? In it's own morbid way...mperlberg said:I wish I still had admin access so I could censor this post. That is so gross.Jules said:Thanks @Mike. 275 normalized for me for 1:40 (1:45?) until I blew. I'm super excited to be able to attend these now.Countdown to cast removal and the #jankeythumbfreedom tour is now under 48 hours.You do now wanna KNOW how long my thumbnail is right now. I'm thinking of having it bronzed and putting it on a chain around my neck.
Apr 28, 2014 at 03:47 AM
Fascinating for me to read about the differences between the IV field and the I/II/III from the perspective of new III's. Part of me is surprised, part says that this is probably what should happen when you go from racing iwth IV's to getting thrown in with I's.
I was figuring that Mengoni would have been aching to make up for last week's disaster. i also figured Jordan would go all-in for Stalin, as he started the day in second overall, and all the placings he can make up can help. Wrong on both counts. I also figured Chabanov would be a player, wrong again. Same goes for his team.
On the big plus side, Marc was marking moves very well early on. I was happy to see him able to cover Dioslaki early on. The first-lap hill wrestle is not my favorite move.
That Margarite would attack was almost a certainly. Interestingly, he seemed to hold back until he set up for the winning move....
About that. He was in a split with Perlberg coming into 8 to go. I crossed to it just before the hill. I went through that group up the hill. Looked like the right group at the right time. Me, Perlberg, Margarite, Dan Zmolik, Dioslaki, Zeb, a few others. Then Margarite attacks really hard just past GAP. My legs weren't ready to go after him, and the others seemed hesitant. Couldn't figure if Zmolik was blocking. Perlberg finally got in with two others, and I wasn't sure about crossing without dragging everyone along--I didn't go. So Mike was out there for a while, I think over a lap, and the group faded back to the pack.
I think Jules came up to me while Perlberg was off the front. While I figured Jules could be useful at setting tempo, we didn't want ot do it with Mike up the road, so I tried to express this, but did so poorly.
Margarite quickly got 45 seconds, and no one, other than us, had any interest in bringing it back.
Eric brought me to the front on the hill with three or two to go, which made it easy to attack and cause the group Mike and I had. But those guys had a combination of not wanting to ride and not having the legs. Mike Novemsky of DNK racing would surge and cause splits and yelling at him to let up didn't really do much. He was looking to get rid of teh sprinters (like Tony Taylor), but at a certain point, he should have realized we needed to keep it together longer in order to stay away. After all, we could have attacked sprinters on the hill or early on the cross-wind section with the finish a mile away and knocked most of them off.
When we got caught, i was trying to figure how to salvage something. Luckily, on the crosswind section, Eric came up and asked if I wanted a tow. I did. And Ryan was on his wheel. Eric moved us up. Just after we got to the front, Ryan hit his limit. I got around him, but that put me on edge. When I got around Eric, I was leading the pack for the line, but I didn't have any more acceleration, I tried grinding it out. Didn't happen. When I got passed by ten guys, I just shifted down and pedaled in.
Good, heads up riding. Thanks all for the help.
If there's something to ask, and this goes for all fields, when you're in a circuit race and drop out or flat out or crash out, even if it's with two laps to go, please try to alert your remaining teammates in the field that you're out. In Prospect, hanging out at the start of the triangle grassy section about 25m in front of the finish line and shouting and waving is the way to do it. This helps your teammates still racing, even if they just see you at the bell, so they can adjust strategy accordingly.
Apr 28, 2014 at 03:48 AM
Jules said:Countdown to cast removal and the #jankeythumbfreedom tour is now under 48 hours.You do now wanna KNOW how long my thumbnail is right now. I'm thinking of having it bronzed and putting it on a chain around my neck.
BTW, I thought the left-hand-only glove was just to protect your hand, not a mistake. Seemed so pro.
Apr 28, 2014 at 11:25 AM
My NP for the race was 292. I was super wasted at the end of the race. Sorry for not being there.
As far as letting you know I was out of the race, the only time I could have done that was as you crossed the finish line. That's the next time that you came by me. I got gapped approaching the hill, chased super hard to get back on going up the hill, and sat up in exhaustion at the top. When I got to the grassy triangle section, you guys were on the final lap.
Sparing race radios, it seems that ability ends after 2 to go. I guess I could have rushed to cut across the park to try to catch you, but I was so spent that all I could do was just roll it in. Maybe we should just look to have a powwow with 3 to go?
Apr 28, 2014 at 12:51 PM
re: letting teammate know when you're dropped, flatted, etc.From my perspective, we started with 9 and the only person I knew was out was Robertson who was sitting at GAP waving wearing his circa 1997 Kissena Kit. I never go that far back in the field so I didn't find out it was just the 4 of us until 1/2 a lap to go.@ Vlad - I think we should walk away with a general learning point, instead of a specific criticism of this race. You're right, when you get popped that late in the game there is little you can do.
Apr 28, 2014 at 01:14 PM
I'd like to point out that 1997 kit was way more flamboyant:
Apr 28, 2014 at 01:22 PM
Noted.
I dropped out early enough and I could have made it more apparent, especially because I've expressed interest in sprinting. Sorry again for the debacle Mike. Speaking with everyone after the race, I learned I need discuss and figure out what races I will try and conserve energy for the sprint, and what races I ride as a helper. Yesterday, I was't in a place to do either. Again, something I should have expressed. I think i had the delusional thought in my head that I could act as a helper the first half, then if nothing got away, sitting in a resting up for the sprint. I say delusional because I'm not strong enough to do that right now.
Lesson learned. Excited for next time.
Apr 28, 2014 at 01:35 PM
This was a very, very difficult for a park race. In fact, w/ 2 or maybe 3 to go, I may have gotten dropped coming across the bottom of the course were it not for a well-timed arm sling from Eric.
I am glad we got together in the final K and tried something that was at least semi-organized. I think in general I would want to be the first lead out man, rather than the final, as that duty just suits a bigger guy like Eric better. But as it was, I wasn't going to be much help either way. A very hard Saturday training ride, and a shitload of aggressive work early in that race left me cooked. I could barely hold Eric's wheel, let alone pick up the watts to tow JP once he swung off. I probably should've known my limits and just gotten out of the way, but sometimes if you can grit your teeth through those moments it pays off because you find out that everyone else is cracking too, and being the one willing to just keep trying is the straw that breaks the camel's back. So, that's what I thought I was doing.
Apr 28, 2014 at 01:36 PM
Vlad,vlad said:My NP for the race was 292. I was super wasted at the end of the race. Sorry for not being there.As far as letting you know I was out of the race, the only time I could have done that was as you crossed the finish line. That's the next time that you came by me. I got gapped approaching the hill, chased super hard to get back on going up the hill, and sat up in exhaustion at the top. When I got to the grassy triangle section, you guys were on the final lap.Sparing race radios, it seems that ability ends after 2 to go. I guess I could have rushed to cut across the park to try to catch you, but I was so spent that all I could do was just roll it in. Maybe we should just look to have a powwow with 3 to go?
292w? Brutal. Wonder what kind of power Margarite threw down. I really need to upload my race file to see what went on for me. (and you did high point and rode around harriman, no?--rest well)
I had no idea when you came off. You are correct, that after you pass the 2 to go point, it's all but impossible--unless someone standing around sees you come off and relays it to the guys in the race, and they'd have no idea if you made it back, so they'd be reluctant to commit to that.
Apr 28, 2014 at 01:42 PM
What I always tell newly-upgraded 3s is that the park races are generally not very difficult if you're just sitting in. Anybody who was fit enough to upgrade should not get dropped in a park race (yesterday being a rare exception).mugwump said:Fascinating for me to read about the differences between the IV field and the I/II/III from the perspective of new III's. Part of me is surprised, part says that this is probably what should happen when you go from racing iwth IV's to getting thrown in with I's.
Where the difference comes is when you start RACING. Because in general, if you're following the right wheels and getting into the good moves, you are, like JP says, racing against 1s - and sometimes even pros - and that's a whole other level.
There's nothing like that in the 4s. There is rarely even a break away, so its the double shock of (a) being in a real breakaway at all; and (b) being in one with guys who are stronger than you.
That said, its a tremendous opportunity to get your head kicked in and get better. At the start of last year, I was getting dropped from winning moves, yelled at for letting gaps open, etc. But I kept trying. And eventually the fitness rose to the occasion. I now have Cat 1s following my moves because they know I can ride in a break, and that I have smart teammates behind me.
Point is, be aggressive and keep getting back up after you get smacked, and you'll soon be doing the smacking.
Apr 28, 2014 at 01:53 PM
One thing that I'm really glad to see is this level of involvement/investment before, during, and after these races. Despite missing most of the season last year, I feel like we're light years away from where we were as a team a year ago. We've definitely leveled up in that sense and I like the trajectory that we're on. As long as we keep this up, we'll get to know each other better and have a deeper impact on these races.
There's so much more of everything in these 123 races. Teams come out to play with a deep repertoire of athleticism and experience. Everything is harder, especially respect. I think we're on our way of establishing ourselves if, like I said before, we keep this type of commitment towards these opportunities to race together going.
There's so much more of everything in these 123 races. Teams come out to play with a deep repertoire of athleticism and experience. Everything is harder, especially respect. I think we're on our way of establishing ourselves if, like I said before, we keep this type of commitment towards these opportunities to race together going.
Apr 28, 2014 at 02:33 PM
@Wump, good point on communication re: dropping out.
I stopped to have a chat with the running race director who had his car setup on the roadway (remember him?) and made sure he understood how incredibly dangerous his behavior was, and just how big a risk he was taking.
We chatted for a few minutes (he was mortified) and then he asked me about my bike computer because he was interested in "cross training." Another recruit, no doubt :P
I took Center drive back and by then we were way inside 2 to go.